Melaka United Football Club () was a

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

n professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

that competed in the

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional Football in Malaysia, football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnersh ...

. They were owned by Kenteam Sdn Bhd, which is one of main nitrile glove producers in

. The club's home ground has been the

Hang Tuah Stadium The Hang Tuah Stadium or Stadium Kubu is a multi-use stadium in Malacca City, Malacca, Malaysia.http://www.stadiummelaka.gov.my/index.php/stadium-hang-tuah/ Stadium Hang Tuah The stadium originally had a capacity of 15,000, with 1,000 seating ...

, before moving to

Hang Jebat Stadium The Hang Jebat Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium with a capacity of 40,000 people in Krubong/ Paya Rumput, Malacca, Malaysia. It was completed in September 2004 and named after a Malacca Sultanate Laksamana, Hang Jebat. The stadium was ...

in Paya Rumput, Krubong in 2005. The club represented the state of

in Malaysian

competitions. They reached the top division in Malaysian football after back-to-back promotions as champion of the 2015 Malaysia FAM League and

2016 Malaysia Premier League The 2016 Liga Premier (), also known as the 100PLUS Liga Premier for sponsorship reasons, was the 13th season of the Liga Premier, the second-tier professional association football, football league in Malaysia.

.Melaka United layak ke Liga Perdana
The club was formerly referred to as ''Malacca'' or officially as ''Malacca Amateur FA'' and ''Malacca FA''. Malacca FA biggest achievement in Malaysia football was becoming the

Malaysian League The Malaysian League, also known as the M-League ( Malay: ''Liga Malaysia'' or ''Liga-M''), is a terminology used to describe the professional football league in Malaysia. The terminology was mainly used to describe the league and its divisions ...

champion in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, led by Asian Football Hall of Fame,

Soh Chin Ann Datuk Wira Soh Chin Ann (or Soh Chin Aun due to misspelling by Malaysian media; ; born 28 July 1950) is a Malaysian former footballer who played as a defender. He was affectionately known as ''Tauke'' or '' Towkay'' (''Boss'') by his teamma ...

. The club's nickname was

Hang Tuah Hang Tuah ( Jawi: , from /tuha/ or /toh/ (توه)), according to the semi-historical ''Malay Annals'' (), was a warrior and Laksamana (equivalent to modern-day Admiral) who lived in Malacca during the reign of Sultan Mansur Shah in the 15th cen ...

, the name being synonymous with strength and intelligence. Melaka United's regular kit colours were green and white for shirts, shorts and socks.

History

Origins

Malacca has sent a football team to play in Malaya Cup since its inaugural season in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

.
Malaysia 1921 In 1924, the team has been registered and now managed by the newly formed governance body of Malacca football, the Melaka Football Association, Malacca Amateur Football Association (MAFA).
Malaysia 1921 Since then, the football team has been competing in Malaya Cup and Malaysia FAM Cup, FAM Cup consistently. MAFA biggest achievement when they reached the final 1957 and 1958 Malaysia FAM Cup, FAM Cup led by Robert Choe.

The era of amateur football league

In 1979, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) changed the format of

Piala Malaysia The Malaysia Cup (), formerly known as Malaya Cup, is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the country's oldest cup tournament, i ...

when they introduced the league stage that acts as the qualifying round for the knockout stage of Piala Malaysia.
Malaya Cup 1979 It was intended primarily as a qualifying tournament for the final knock-out stages of the Piala Malaysia where teams compete in a one-round league before advanced to the knock-out stage. The football league in Malaysia has only officially started in 1982, after the introduction of league winners trophy. The league has been known as Liga Malaysia (1982-1988), Liga Malaysia.
Malaya Cup 1981
Malaysia 1982 Malacca football team continued to compete in the league and has become the champion of the league during its second season in 1983 which has been the only time the Malacca team become a champion of the top-tier league in Malaysian football league system, Malaysian football.

The era of semi-pro football league

Over the years, the league competition has gained important stature in its own right. From 1982 until 1988 the league has an amateur status and continues its purpose as qualifying round for Piala Malaysia. Only in 1989 it is changed to a new format as

Liga Semi-Pro Liga Semi-Pro () was a semi-pro football league in Malaysia that operated from 1989 until 1993. The league was managed by the Football Association of Malaysia. During its inaugural season, 17 teams participated in the league, divided in two di ...

(MSPFL), introduced by FAM as a way towards fully professional status. The inaugural season of MSPFL consisted of nine teams in Division I and eight teams in Division II.
Malaysia 1989 Malacca has been put in Division II from 1989 to 1992 seasons.

Era of professional football

MSPFL was the nation's top-tier league until it was succeeded by the Liga Perdana (1994–97). In its inaugural season, 16 teams competed. The teams were based from all states in Malaysia including Malacca, Kuala Lumpur and addition of two teams from

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

.
Malaysia 1994 In 1998, Liga Perdana was divided into two divisions consist of

Liga Perdana 1 Liga Perdana 1 or Liga Perdana Satu () was the nation's top-tier professional football league in Malaysia that operated from 1998 to 2003. The league was formed and established in 1998 to succeed the Liga Perdana (1994–97) after FAM decision ...

and Liga Perdana 2.http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=1998&dt=0111&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Sukan&pg=sp_01.htm Pemain Malaysia bebas ke Brunei During 1998, Liga Perdana 1 consist of 12 teams while Liga Perdana 2 had 8 teams. Malacca competed in Liga Perdana 2 from 1998 until 2000, before achieving promotion to Liga Perdana 1 for 2001 season.
Malaysia 1998 At this time the league still consisted of semi-pro team where each team was allowed to register 25 players (minimum of 12 professionals for Liga Perdana 1 and 6 professional for Liga Perdana 2). Malacca competed in Liga Perdana 1 from 2001 until 2003.
Malaysia 2001
Malaysia 2002 Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) decided to privatise the league for 2004 season onwards, when the

Liga Super The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known ...

was formed. Teams in Liga Perdana 1 and Liga Perdana 2 were put through a qualification and playoffs to be promoted into the Liga Super. Malacca failed to qualify and was put into a new second-tier

Liga Premier The Malaysia Premier League () was the second-tier professional Association football, football league in Malaysia. It replaced the Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system. The Malaysia Premier League was contested by 12 clubs. T ...

for the 2004 season.
Malaysia 2003

Playing in Malaysia Premier League

The club has been in an up and down performance in Malaysia Premier League since the league inception. They played for three seasons and were promoted to the top-tier Malaysia Super League.
Malaysia 2004
Malaysia 2005
Malaysia 2006

Brief year in Malaysia Super League

After a successful season in second division, the club has been promoted to the top-tier division, the Liga Super for 2006–07 Liga Super, 2006-07 season.
Malaysia 2007 The club has splurged a big budget to buy players while removing majority of squad from the previous winning season, in order to create a more competitive team.

Back to second division

A slump in performance has caused the club struggling and fighting for relegation in their three seasons of Malaysia Premier League, from 2007–08 Liga Premier, 2008 until

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, before the dark era. The club has been relegated to the Malaysia FAM League for 2011 season.
Malaysia 2008
Malaysia 2009
Malaysia 2010

Years of struggle in Malaysia FAM League

The club has been relegated from

2010 Malaysia Premier League The 2010 Liga Premier (), also known as the TM Liga Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the seventh season of the Liga Premier, the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia.

to the Malaysia FAM League, despite being one of the bigger clubs within it.
Malaysia 2011http://www.sinarharian.com.my/edisi/melaka-ns/pemain-berbakat-berhijrah-punca-pasukan-bola-sepak-melaka-merosot-1.63326 Pemain berbakat berhijrah punca pasukan bola sepak Melaka merosot The club continued to compete and had been a consistent team in third-tier league for five straight seasons.http://ww1.utusan.com.my/utusan/Sukan/20121027/su_04/Sokongan-peminat-semakin-menurun---Kelab-Penyokong-Melaka Sokongan peminat semakin menurun - Kelab Penyokong Melaka
Malaysia 2012
Malaysia 2013
Malaysia 2014
Malaysia 2015

A comeback from lower league

The club made a comeback to second-tier league, Malaysia Premier League, in 2016 after being promoted as champions of 2015 Malaysia FAM League. Before winning the FAM League, the club had experienced a 32-year trophy drought, where the last time Melaka United won the Malaysian top-tier league was in 1983. It was the league stage that served as the qualifying round for the Malaysian Cup.
Malaysia 1983 During that time, Malaysia national football team, national footballer

was playing for MalaccaMelaka kembali warnai Liga M
/ref> The club has achieved promotion to Liga Super after becoming the champion of the Malaysia Premier League just one year after winning the Malaysia FAM League.

Back to top division league

After the promotion to the top division, Melaka United management has made a number of changes, including the new squad selection. On 14 November 2016, Melaka United has announced the appointment of Eric Williams to replace Mat Zan Mat Aris as the new head coach for the club. Melaka lantik Eric Williams sebagai jurulatih baru Eric Williams has previously managed the Myanmar Yangon United F.C. in the 2014 season. The club has also only retained ten players from previous season and has recruited nine new players.http://www.goal.com/en-my/news/3896/malaysia/2016/11/03/29130692/melaka-united-to-offer-spasojevic-solehin-and-eight-other Melaka United to offer Spasojevic, Solehin and eight other players new contracthttp://www.goal.com/en-my/news/3896/malaysia/2016/11/28/29964252/transfer-round-up-melaka-recruit-nine-new-players-jdt-signed?ICID=HP_BN_3 TRANSFER ROUND-UP: Melaka recruit nine new players, JDT signed one The club has set a high target for 2017 season, including to reach the top five in the league standings.http://www.stadiumastro.com/ms/article/2016/12/26/melaka-united-sasar-kelompok-atasan-liga-super Melaka United sasar kelompok atasan Liga Super On 18 February 2017, the club has managed to win their first match in Liga Super, almost 10 years after their last win in the top division in 2006–07 season.

Dissolution

Melaka United announced the decision to dissolve the club in 2022, after failing to pay the players and coaches. The debt was thought to be more than RM 3 million. Melaka F.C. become a new team to represent the state of Malacca for 2023 onwards, though they will not inherit the honours and titles won by Melaka United.

Stadium

Melaka United last played at Hang Jebat Stadium. The capacity of the stadium is 40,000. In addition to the football field, the stadium also consists of a

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move quickly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is in contrast to walkin ...

track. The club has previously been using the Hang Tuah Stadium as their home ground.It was still used as a training ground and home stadium for development and youth squad, which mostly competed in Piala Presiden and

Piala Belia The Piala Belia () is a youth football competition for under-18 players in Malaysia. The competition consists of youth squads from clubs competing in the Malaysian football league system and sports schools under the Football Association of Mala ...

Crest and colours

Crest

Melaka United has historically utilised one primary crest before the introduction of football league in Malaysia. The first, adopted when the club was founded, was the image of

A Famosa A Famosa () was a Portuguese fortress built in Malacca, Malaysia, circa 1512. The oldest part of the fortress was a five-storey keep which eventually gave its name to the fortress as a whole. Some time following the Battle of Malacca (1641) ...

, historical remains from the colonial age in Malacca. It was used during the club's amateur era and remained for more than half-century. Since the introduction of football league, the club has evolved from amateur years and has adopted a new crest which featured an image of Malacca tree, which the city was named after. Since the end of 2013, the club has had a rebranding to Melaka United, where a new version crest was introduced.

Colours

Melaka United have always worn green and white shirts as their home kit as it was an iconic colour for the club. Melaka United's away colours were usually all white with green trim, or various combinations of blue, red, yellow and white, as it represents the colour of Malacca's flag.

Colours and kit evolution

Home Away

Supporters

"Ultras Taming Sari" (UTS) was mainly known for supporting Melaka United. The group was one of many

ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...

supporters created under the branches of ''Ultras Malaya''. Melaka United was one of the most supported clubs in Malacca. Melaka United's traditional fanbase come from all over the Central Malacca District,

Alor Gajah Alor Gajah is a town and district seat of Alor Gajah District in the Malaysian state of Malacca. It is governed by Alor Gajah Municipal Council (), which was formerly known as Alor Gajah District Council () from 1 July 1978 until 1 May 2003. E ...

and Jasin area. Hang Jebat Stadium during a football match 6

Ownership and finances

The Malacca football team has been founded since 1921, and the management of the club has been taken over by the foundation of Malacca Amateur Football Association in 1924. The club has been thriving with the financial backing from the state government and sponsors. In 2014 the management went through a restructuring process to become the Melaka United Soccer Associationhttp://www.hmetro.com.my/node/176335 Imej baru MUFC perkasa Melaka United ETROTV/ref>

Sponsorship

Head coaches

Records

Team managers

Honours

Domestic competitions

League

* Liga Malaysia (1982-1988), Liga Malaysia/ Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 1/ Liga Perdana/

**Champions (1):

Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 2 Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 2 () was a second-tier semi-pro football league in Malaysia that operated from 1989 until 1993. The league was managed by the Football Association of Malaysia. Champions Below is the list of the semi-pro league second ...

/ Liga Perdana 2/

**Champions (1):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

**Runners-up (2):

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, 2005–06 * Piala FAM/ Liga FAM **Champions (1):

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

**Runners-up (2): 1957, 1958

Cup

*''None''

Preseason competitions

* Malacca TYT Cup : Winners (1): 2022

Performance in AFC competitions

* Asian Club Championship / AFC Champions League: 1 appearance ::

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

: Southeast Asia Qualifying/ASEAN Champions Cup–4th place

Club record

*Pld = Played, W = Won, D = Drawn, L = Lost, F = Goals for, A = Goals against, D = Goal difference, Pts= Points, Pos = Position Source:

Individual player awards

Malaysian League Golden boot winners

Malaysian League top goalscorers

Notable former players

This list of prominent former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contribution in terms of appearances or goals, or to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left. It is not complete or all inclusive, additions and refinements will continue to be made over time. * Robert Choe *

Dollah Salleh Dollah Salleh (born 10 October 1963) is a Malaysian Association football, football head coach, coach and former player. He is well-known to Malaysia Super League, MSL fans as Pablo Dollah. One of Malaysia's most decorated players, he has also ...

* Lim Teong Kim * V. Murugan * Lim Teong Kim *

Ong Kim Swee Datuk Ong Kim Swee () DPSM is a Malaysian football manager and former footballer, who is currently the head coach of Liga 1 club Persik Kediri. He spent most of his career playing for East Malaysian teams, notably Sarawak and Sabah during t ...

* Shamsurin Abdul Rahman *

Shukor Adan Muhammad Shukor bin Adan (born 24 September 1979), is a former Malaysian professional footballer. He played for many teams in Malaysian Football League such as Selangor and also Negeri Sembilan FA. He plays mainly as a defensive midfielder but ...

* Amri Yahyah * Safiq Rahim * Azizan Baba * Nurshamil Abd Ghani * Ilija Spasojević * Marko Šimić

Affiliated clubs

Melaka Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca. The state is bordered by Negeri Sembilan to the north and west and Johor to t ...

* SAMB

References

External links

Melaka United
at Football Malaysia {{Portal bar, Association football, Malaysia Malaysia Super League clubs Football clubs in Malaysia Football clubs in Malacca Defunct football clubs in Malaysia 1924 establishments in British Malaya Sport in Malacca